We are gathering evidence for the inquiry using a number of methods. We have called for evidence from individuals, organisations and service providers, based on their experiences, positive and negative. We are commissioning research on specific areas that we have identified will help with the inquiry. We are now holding a series of inquiry panels to hear evidence from invited witnesses.
Thank you for your help
The call for written evidence is now closed. We would like to thank all the people who took the time to respond to the call for evidence and / or to attend focus group meetings. Read on for information about the responses.
Further to our consultation with the Scottish Human Rights Commission, it was decided that the timescale of the Human Rights Inquiry was too tight to include Scotland, but they are considering the possibility of parallel work in the future.
Responses
We have received 176 written call for evidence responses from the following categories of stakeholders:
| Category of stakeholders |
Number of responses |
| Individuals |
53 |
| Voluntary and Community Sector groups |
57 |
| Service providers |
66 |
Within the 176 responses, we received 145 from England and 23 from Wales. The eight remaining responses came from countries which were not covered by the HRI (Scotland, Northern Ireland).
In order to complement the responses to the written call for evidence, we also met with over 160 stakeholders from the voluntary and community sector and individuals in England and Wales individually or in focus groups. We adopted this approach to ensure that we heard from a wide range of groups and individuals. Read comments made by participants in the focus groups.
The evidence given by stakeholders in writing and orally is invaluable to the inquiry and will constitute one of the strands of evidence informing the final report which we hope to publish in spring 2009.
Inquiry Panels
In the next phase of the Inquiry, we are holding a series of inquiry panels to hear evidence from invited witnesses relevant to the Terms of Reference. Those invited include Whitehall departments, Inspectorates, public authorities and advice and advocacy bodies. We will also be hearing evidence from the legal community, the media and from individual claimants who have successfully used human rights arguments in court or to resolve disputes with public authorities.
Each inquiry panel will be chaired by Dame Nuala O'Loan, the chair of the Human Rights Inquiry. For each session she will be joined by a panel made upon one or more of the other Human Rights Inquiry Commissioners: Professor Francesca Klug; Sir Bert Massie; and Dr Neil Wooding.
In order to make this process as open as possible, the inquiry panels will wherever possible be held in public. However, there may be circumstances where the Inquiry Panel will hear evidence in private, for example where the nature of the evidence might raise issues of the confidentiality or privacy of the witness or others, where giving the evidence in public might cause distress to the witness or where it would amount to a reasonable adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act.
The Inquiry Panels are being held in various locations in September and October. If you would like to attend any of these sessions, please email HRI@equalityhumanrights.com at least 24 hours in advanced to register and reserve a place. You may be refused entry otherwise due to security reasons.
Date: 25th September
Time: 10am to 4pm
Venue: Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury
Date: 26th September
Time: 10am to 4.15pm
Venue: Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury
Date: 30th September
Time: 9.45am to 4.45pm
Venue: Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury
Date: 7th, 8th October
Time: 10am to 4.15pm
Venue: Hilton Hotel Cardiff
Date: 10th October
Time: 9.45am to 4.15pm
Venue: 3 More London
Date: 13th October
Time: 9.45am to 4.15pm
Venue: Westminster Central Hall
Date: 14th October
Time: 10.30am to 4.15pm
Venue: Regent’s College Conference Centre
Date: 17th October
Time: 10am to 4.15pm
Venue: Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury
Date: 23rd October
Time: 9.45am to 4.15pm
Venue: 3 More London
Date: 24th October
Time: 10am to 4.15pm
Venue: 3 More London
If you would like more details about these sessions please email us on HRI@equalityhumanrights.com.
Please subscribe to the inquiry RSS feed to receive updates on the Human Rights Inquiry.